I Would Give Anything to Talk to Him Right Now
by HooleQuinn
Summary: The last thing Lightning remembered was hitting the pavement, then everything went black. Alludes to the concept of a afterlife & Higher Power in the Cars universe in which Lightning reunites with an old friend. Set right after Lightning's crash in Cars 3. One shot.


**Author's Note: Basically I was inspired by the concept of a Ghost!Doc AU for Cars 3, in which Doc is there as ghost, and can make his presence known. I just decided to do a origin for that of sorts, with the idea that Doc would periodically be there to help Lightning out during Cars 3. This just kinda popped into my head a few weeks ago and I finally got around to writing it down**

The last thing Lightning McQueen remembered was hitting the pavement, then everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself surrounded by fluffy white clouds, sitting near a large golden gate.

" _Seriously?"_ He thought, not sure if was he was seeing was real or a dream, _"Those clichés can't be real."_ He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. There was no one around, and the gate wasn't opening on its own, so he drove up to it and tried to push it open with his hood. It wouldn't budge. Lightning could see through the golden bars of the gate, but all he saw were more clouds. He was wondering how long he was going to be sitting there before he inevitably woke up from this dream, when he saw a familiar shape come through the clouds and drive up to the other side.

"Lightning?" Doc Hudson said as the gate slowly opened & he drove through, "What are you doing here?"

"Doc?" Lightning almost felt like asking him the same question. Doc looked the same as he always had, yet different. He was still The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, but somehow his paint was more vibrant and his chrome was shinier. Lightning also noticed Doc sounded a lot younger. For some reason seeing Doc there gave him an upsetting thought, that maybe this wasn't a dream after all. "Wait a minute, am I really where I seem to be? Am I really…" He couldn't bring himself to say it, but then his mind started to race. "But what about Sally? What about Mater? Will they be alright? What about the rest of the town?" He was starting panic.

 _Honk honk!_ Doc laid on his horn get Lightning's attention before he worked himself up into a frenzy. "Alright kid, calm down!" He said somewhat forcefully.

Well Doc might have sounded younger, but there was no mistaking that tone. Lightning had heard it many times, going all the way back to the day they met. He stopped his frightened monologue and looked at his old crew chief.

Doc sighed to himself. "Now I know why the Manufacturer sent me over here. Alright, son, I have a pretty good idea why you're here, but why don't you tell me what happened?"

Lightning found himself telling Doc everything. He told him about Bobby & Cal, the Next Gen racers, and Jackson Storm. "I guess I pushed myself too hard trying to chase down Storm, and I lost control. I felt myself hit the pavement and the next thing I know, I'm sitting here, talking to you."

As he listened to Lightning's story, a small part of Doc wished he could have been there, perhaps he could have prevented this. However, another part of him wondered how much help he actually could have provided. He never had to deal with that aspect of racing. He was forced out of the sport before the rookies were ever a real threat to him. But no matter. Lightning was here, now, and despite the circumstances he was still Lightning's mentor, so Doc was going to offer whatever advice he could.

"I suppose you noticed the gates didn't open for you?" Doc said. Lightning gave a nod of his hood. "The reason they didn't open for you is because you're not supposed to be here. No not like that!" Doc immediately clarified as Lightning's eyes widened, "What I mean is, you're not meant to be here on this…plane of existence, at least not yet. At some point soon, you'll be returning to the physical world."

"So, this is like, a near death experience? How do you even know all that?"

"Because a similar thing happened to me once. Don't forget I've been where you are" Doc gave him a knowing look.

Lightning understood what Doc meant. He'd never told Lightning about that aspect of his wreck, but then Doc didn't like saying much about it in general. Then, almost as if on cue, Lightning felt an odd feeling come over him. "All of a sudden I feel like I'm supposed to go somewhere"

Doc nodded his hood in understanding. "Sounds like you'll be going back soon," He paused, and tilted his hood as if he was listening to something in the distance. "And I'm being told you might need my help when you do. So, I reckon you'll be seeing me again"

Lightning looked confused. He hadn't heard anything. "Told by who?"

Doc had an amused look. "Why, the Manufacturer, son"

"Oh…" Lightning was awed into silence. Then everything around him started to fade.

The irony was not lost on Doc as Lightning started to look more and more like a ghost. "Looks like you're starting to wake up. I'll be seeing you soon, son"

Before Lightning has a chance to say any kind of goodbye, everything again went black. When he woke up, he felt sore all over. The first thing he saw was Sally's relieved look.

"Stickers!" She said as she gently placed a kiss on his fender. "You're finally awake! How do you feel?"

Lightning let out a small groan of pain. "Everything hurts," He said as he looked around the room.

Sally looked sympathetic. "How much do you remember?"

Lightning thought of the crash and what followed. "Everything."


End file.
